The Summer We Changed

motel 6

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By the time morning had come, and the calm of the sun had ward the stormy skies off, Jewel and Jeremiah had made their way to the old motel 6 down the road. Jere held the door as they stepped into the humble building, both of them headed toward the front desk. The woman sat solemnly at the desk, her eyes glancing at the tracks of mud they brought in with them.
"Hi, are we able to use your phone?" Jewel asked, the lady giving her a once over before doing the same to Jeremiah.
"There's a phone in each room." The lady answered coldly.
"We just need to call a tow." Jere tried to reason, the woman holding firm grounding on her stance.
"Are you customers?" She questioned, a cocked eyebrow raised in suspicion. Jewel chose to swallow both her and Jeremiah's pride in that moment, much rather wanting to make it to Conrad than fight with an old lady.
"We'll take the cheapest room." She sighed, grabbing her wallet from her pocket. As much as she didn't want to put the charge on her emergency credit card, she knew she wouldn't have enough in cash to cover the cost. She prayed her dad wouldn't see the charge, or at least wouldn't see it for a few more days, before handing her card to the woman. She watched as the lady swiped her card, handing her a small motel key soon after.
"Enjoy your stay." She spoke stoically, Jewel reluctantly slipping the key from her hand.
"Thanks." Jere replied, forcing a smile as they parted ways with the grouchy woman. The pair walked toward their room, judging the motel's rugged appearance as they searched. Jeremiah finally stopped at their door, Jewel taking a moment to unlock the door.
"Charming." Jeremiah spoke, looking back down to Jewel after she had pushed the door open.
"I thought there'd be roaches, so this beats my expectations." She admitted, shrugging as she walked inside the room and tossed her bag onto the bed.
"You can shower first, I'm gonna call a truck and let Belly know what's going on." Jeremiah asked, his eyes watching her as she peeked into the bathroom.
"Okay." She spoke, preparing to take her shower as Jeremiah moved toward the room's old phone.

After Jewel had showered, and Jere had gotten in contact with both a tow and Belly, he took his turn to rid himself of the dried mud. Jewel dried her hair as Jeremiah went to take his shower, her curiosity enticing her as she looking around the room. She shuffled through the papers on the desk, Jeremiah's wallet resting beside them. She peered over at his wallet, never having seen his driver's license photo, before she stopped. Her eyes gazed over a familiar photo instead, her heart sinking in her chest as she recognized it. The photo, cut out and slipped into the clear slip of his wallet, still crisp from last December. The last photo of the two, at the last time they were truly happy together. She thought back to last Christmas, and how much of a roller coaster that entire season had been. She wondered how he could've kept that photo in his wallet, serving as a constant reminder that the two were no longer together. The sound of the bathroom door opening brought Jewel back down to Earth, the girl quickly shutting Jere's wallet and turning to face the window. She peeked through the blinds, looking outside as she tried to shake off the thought that Jeremiah still had their photo.
"The truck's here, I think." She spoke, looking out the window at a tow pulling in Jeremiah's Jeep. His eyebrows furrowed, moving closely beside Jewel to look through the blinds. She wondered if she should've stepped away, especially since he was still left shirtless from his shower. She allowed her eyes to peek once or twice before Jeremiah turned back around, Jewel defeatedly admitting to herself that he still looked as good as he did the last time she had seen him. She watched as he slipped some things back into his bag, ready to get back on the road again. Jewel knew that the ride to Cousin's would take a couple of hours, but the thought of sitting next to him for so long was starting to make her anxious.
"Are you ready to go?" Jeremiah spoke, finally drawing the girl out of her thoughts.
"Oh...yeah." She realized, quickly grabbing her bag from the bed. Jeremiah opened the door for the both of them, letting her walk out first before following.
"Back on the road, we go. Maybe this time you'll stay on the road?" Jewel teased, watching as Jere rolled his eyes.
"Maybe this time you'll stay in the car?" He reminded her, a small laugh slipping past her lips as they headed down to return the key and continue their road trip.